Warmer days ahead - but chillier nights

University of Portsmouth lecturer receives MBE

The Portsmouth area is set to enjoy a spell of sunny days - although weathermen say that night temperatures are set to drop.

After rain tomorrow, the area is expected to enjoy sunshine on Friday and over the weekend, with temperatures up to 19C.

But the Met Office says mixed conditions and colder nights are in store for Britain as the autumn equinox arrives.

Sporadic rainfall and sunny spells are forecast for tomorrow, and temperatures are expected to warm up towards the weekend - with nights set to get chillier.

Laura Young, from the Met Office, said this mixed bag of weather is typical for autumn.

She said: “As with any seasons there is a transitional phase. You don’t hit December 1 and it becomes immediately freezing cold. You are more likely to see snow at the end of winter than the beginning.

“Certainly it can be quite settled but it can also be quite volatile in September, it all depends.

“We have had a mixture of wet and windy and very warm and dry. We have had a good mixture which is fairly typical for September.”

Most of Britain will see a fine start to Wednesday, except for West Scotland and Northern Ireland where a band of cloud and rain will sweep east, getting lighter and patchier as it does.

This will cloud over leaving some patchy rain for the rest of England, and by the afternoon this should clear, leaving sunshine and one or two showers.

On Wednesday night, most of England will be mostly dry initially before a string of blustery showers in Scotland that will reach north England by the end of the night. With temperatures in the 8Cs and 9Cs it will be colder than Tuesday night, the Met office said.

Parts of the north are expected to be hit by thundery showers and stronger gusts of wind on Thursday, while the south will be clearer with some light showers.

Weather will warm up on Friday with temperatures hitting around 18C (64F) in the south, with a few showers that will become lighter and less frequent, leaving everywhere dry by the end of the day.

Heading into the weekend, most of the UK except for the western isles will be dry with some sun and patchy cloud, with maximum temperatures remaining at 17/18C in the south and 16C in the north. Due to clear skies, nights will start to get more chilly as temperatures dip into single figures.

Ms Young said: “There is quite a lot of sunshine around on the weekend, particularly on Saturday.

“It will mainly be staying dry and that will hang around until the middle of next week. That could bring mist and fog overnight.”

She said Britain is set to see “warm days and chilly nights because we are going into that autumn weather”.

Meanwhile Ladbrokes say it is odds-on that 2015 will be declared the wettest on record.

The bookies say there is a 6/5 chance this year goes down in history as the wettest yet, while they are offering 4/1 that this September will notch up the same accolade.

Alex Donohue of Ladbrokes said: “As every drop of rain falls the odds follow suit, and it’s now looking increasingly likely that 2015 will be chalked up in the history books as the wettest year we’ve ever seen.”